59-550: The Asahi Shimbun ( 朝日 新聞 , IPA: [asaçi ɕiꜜmbɯɴ] , lit. ' morning sun newspaper ' , English: Asahi News ) is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan . Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia , and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and 1.33 million for its evening edition as of July 2021,
118-667: A Diet . After the government 's official announcement of the formation of the Diet, these newspapers, such as the Yokohama Mainichi Shinbun and the Chūgai shinbun , became organs of the political parties. The early readers of these newspapers mostly came from the ranks of the former samurai class. Koshinbun , on the other hand, were more plebeian, popular newspapers that contained local news , human-interest stories , and light fiction. Examples of koshinbun were
177-463: A central role in issues of free speech and freedom of the press . In the period of " Taishō Democracy " in the 1910s to the 1920s, the government worked to suppress newspapers such as the Asahi shinbun for their critical stance against government bureaucracy that favored protecting citizens' rights and constitutional democracy . In the period of growing militarism to the outbreak of total war in
236-570: A copy of the firsthand account of the disaster given by Masao Yoshida , who was the manager of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant when the triple meltdown occurred; the testimony, recorded by government investigators, had been kept hidden from public view. In the testimony, Yoshida said that 90% of the plant's employees had left the plant at the height of the crisis despite him having given instructions for them to remain. He also testified that he believed his instructions had simply not reached
295-399: A daily newspaper onto one page. Shukusatsuban are geared towards libraries and archives, and are usually organized and released by month. These resources are available at many leading research universities throughout the world (usually universities with reputable Japanese studies programs). The Asahi Shimbun has a CD-ROM database consisting of an index of headlines and sub-headlines from
354-517: A glossy, large-format annual in English entitled This is Japan . Between April and May 1989, the paper reported that a coral reef near Okinawa was defaced by "すさんだ心根の日本人" (a man with a Japanese dissolute mind). It later turned to be a report in which the reporter himself defaced the coral reef. This incident was called ja:朝日新聞珊瑚記事捏造事件 (the Asahi Shimbun coral article hoax incident )., and
413-426: A lasting contribution to Japanese culture or society. Reproductions of past issues of the Asahi Shimbun are available in three major forms; as CD-ROMs , as microfilm , and as shukusatsuban (縮刷版, literally, "reduced-sized print editions"). Shukusatsuban is a technology popularized by Asahi Shimbun in the 1930s as a way to compress and archive newspapers by reducing the size of the print to fit multiple pages of
472-475: A long tradition of reporting on big political scandals more often than its conservative counterparts. The paper is considered a newspaper of record in Japan. The Asahi Shimbun is critical of right-wing Japanese nationalism and shows progressive tendencies in cultural and diplomatic issues, but has a neoliberal tendency economically. The latter contrasts with Mainichi Shimbun ' s relatively Keynesian economic viewpoint. However, in general evaluation,
531-544: A technology popularized by Asahi shinbun in the 1930s as a way to compress and archive newspapers by reducing the size of the print to fit multiple pages of a daily newspaper onto one page. Shukusatsuban are geared towards libraries and archives, and are usually organized and released by month. These resources are available at many leading research universities throughout the world (usually universities with reputable Japanese studies programs). One will need to check each individual library's collection for information about
590-490: A way of assuming responsibility for compromising the newspaper's principles during the war, the Asahi Shimbun's president and senior executives resigned en masse. On 21 November 1946, the newspaper adopted the modern kana usage system ( shin kanazukai ). On 30 November 1949, the Asahi Shimbun started to publish the serialized cartoon strip Sazae-san by Machiko Hasegawa. This was a landmark cartoon in Japan's postwar era. Between 1954 and 1971, Asahi Shimbun published
649-584: A worse disaster at the plant. Japanese journalist Ryusho Kadota, who have previously interviewed Yoshida and plant workers, was one of the first to criticize the Asahi for mischaracterizing the evacuation. The Asahi at first defended its story, demanding that Kadota's publisher apologize and issue a correction. However, in August, the Yomiuri Shimbun , Sankei Shimbun , Kyodo News and NHK all acquired
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#1732772760546708-695: Is available only at the Harvard-Yenching Library at Harvard University , which notably includes advertisements in its index. Researchers using other university libraries would probably have to first use the CD-ROM index, and then look into the microfilm or shukusatsuban versions. Microfilm versions are available from 1888; shukusatsuban versions are available from 1931. Issues of the Asahi shinbun printed since August 1984 are available through Lexis-Nexis Academic. Microfilm versions of
767-608: The Asahi Evening News . In 2010, this partnership was dissolved due to unprofitability and the Asahi Shimbun now operates the Asia & Japan Watch online portal for English readers. The Tribune (now known as The International New York Times ) cooperates with Asahi on Aera English , a glossy magazine for English learners. Former Former The Asahi Shimbun is considered left-leaning and has been called "the intellectual flagship of Japan's political left," with
826-690: The Asahi Shimbun , Mainichi Shimbun , the Yomiuri Shimbun , Sankei Shimbun and the Nikkei Shimbun . The first two are generally considered liberal/left-leaning while the latter three are considered conservative/right-leaning. The most popular national daily English-language newspaper in Japan is The Japan Times . The majority of the newspaper articles are printed vertically . Japanese law prohibits newspaper publishers to be publicly traded . Japanese newspapers began in
885-569: The Mainichi shinbun are available for the years 1984–2005, and shukusatsuban are available from 1950 to 1983. Issues of the Mainichi shinbun printed since 27 March 1998, are available through Factiva . Uyoku dantai Uyoku dantai ( 右翼団体 , lit. 'right-wing groups') refers to Japanese ultranationalist far-right activists, provocateurs, and internet trolls (as netto-uyoku ) often organized in groups. In 1996 and 2013,
944-557: The Tokyo nichinichi shinbun ( 東京日日新聞 ), the predecessor of the present day Mainichi shinbun , which began in 1872; the Yomiuri shinbun , which began in 1874; and the Asahi shinbun , which began in 1879. In the 1880s, government pressure led to a gradual weeding out of Ōshinbun , and the koshinbun started becoming more similar to the modern, "impartial" newspapers. Throughout their history, Japanese newspapers have had
1003-578: The Yokohama Mainichi Shinbun (横浜毎日新聞), first published in 1871. Newspapers at this time can be divided into two types, Ōshinbun ( 大新聞 , 'large newspapers') and koshinbun ( 小新聞 , 'small newspapers'). People commonly referred to Ōshinbun as "political forums" because these papers were inextricably tied to the Popular Rights Movement ( 自由民権運動 , Jiyū minken undō ) and its demands for establishing
1062-515: The Asahi , Tadakazu Kimura, a supporter of the investigative section, resigned to take responsibility. The reporters and editors responsible for the story were punished, and the Special Reports Section reduced in size, with many of its members reassigned elsewhere in the paper. Two of the top reporters later quit to found a non-profit journalism organization that is one of the first in Japan dedicated to investigative journalism,
1121-580: The Asahi Shimbun began publication in Osaka on 25 January 1879 as a small-print, four-page illustrated paper that sold for one sen (a hundredth of a yen) a copy, and had a circulation of approximately 3,000 copies. The three founding officers of a staff of twenty were Kimura Noboru (company president), Murayama Ryōhei [ ja ] (owner), and Tsuda Tei (managing editor). The company's first premises were at Minami-dōri, Edobori in Osaka. On 13 September of
1180-695: The Asahi Shimbun printed since August 1984 are available through Lexis-Nexis Academic. Asahi Shimbun was the official supporter for several Asian Football Confederation 's competitions, most recently the 2019 AFC Asian Cup . They used to support both of AFC's club competitions; the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup until 2018 season. They were official sponsors of the 2002 FIFA World Cup . Newspapers in Japan Japanese newspapers ( 新聞 shinbun , or older spelling shimbun ), similar to their worldwide counterparts, run
1239-492: The Asahi Shimbun seems to have a tone representing Japanese social-liberals (left-liberals). The Asahi has called for upholding of Japan's postwar Constitution and particularly Article 9 , which bars the use of war to resolve disputes. The newspaper has also opposed changes in interpretation of the anti-war provision, including one made in 2014 that allowed the Japan Self-Defense Forces to come to
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#17327727605461298-460: The Constitution of Japan . Listed below is an overview of reproductions of the three major Japanese daily newspapers, the Yomiuri shinbun , the Asahi shinbun , and the Mainichi shinbun . These historical newspapers are available in three major forms, as CD-ROMs , as microfilm , and as shukusatsuban ( 縮刷版 , literally 'reduced-sized print editions'). Shukusatsuban is
1357-687: The Genyōsha and one of Ogata's best friends. Hirota was the chairman of Tōyama's funeral committee, and Ogata was the vice-chairman. Ryū, who had been a Marxist economist of the Ōhara Institute for Social Research before he entered Asahi , advocated centrally planned economies in his Nihon Keizai no Saihensei (Reorganization of Japanese Economies. 1939). And Sassa, a son of ultranationalistic politician Sassa Tomofusa, joined hands with far-right generals (they were called Kōdōha or Imperial Way Faction ) and terrorists who had assassinated Junnosuke Inoue (ex–Minister of Finance), Baron Dan Takuma (chairman of
1416-634: The Imperial Seal , the flag of Japan and the Rising Sun Flag . They are primarily used to stage protests outside organizations such as the Chinese, Korean or Russian embassies, Chongryon facilities and media organizations, where propaganda (both taped and live) is broadcast through their loudspeakers. They can sometimes be seen driving around cities or parked in busy shopping areas, broadcasting propaganda, military music or Kimigayo ,
1475-532: The National Police Agency estimated that there were over 1,000 right-wing groups in Japan with about 100,000 members in total. Uyoku dantai are well known for their highly visible propaganda vehicles, known as gaisensha ( 街宣車 , converted vans, trucks and buses fitted with loudspeakers and prominently marked with the name of the group and propaganda slogans) . The vehicles are usually black, khaki or olive drab, and are decorated with
1534-605: The Rice Riots , government authorities suppressed an article in the Osaka Asahi , leading to a softening of its liberal views, and the resignation of many of its staff reporters in protest. Indeed, the newspaper's liberal position led to its vandalization during the February 26 Incident of 1936, as well as repeated attacks from ultranationalists throughout this period (and for that matter, throughout its history). From
1593-752: The Second World War to varying degrees, deny the war crimes committed by the military during the pre-1945 Shōwa period and are critical of what they see as a "masochistic" bias in post-war historical education. Thus, they do not recognize the legality of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East or other allied tribunals and consider the war-criminals enshrined in the Yasukuni Shrine as "Martyrs of Shōwa " ( 昭和殉難者 , Shōwa junnansha ) . They support
1652-539: The Tokyo Asahi Shimbun . This was soon after the publication of his novels Wagahai wa Neko de Aru ( I Am a Cat ) and Botchan , which made him the center of literary attention. On 1 October 1908, Osaka Asahi Shimbun and Tokyo Asahi Shimbun were merged into a single unified corporation, Asahi Shimbun Gōshi Kaisha , with a capitalization of approximately 600,000 yen. In 1918, because of its critical stance towards Terauchi Masatake 's cabinet during
1711-614: The 17th century as yomiuri ( 読売 , literally 'to read and sell') or kawaraban ( 瓦版 , literally 'tile-block printing ', referring to the use of clay printing blocks), which were printed handbills sold in major cities to commemorate major social gatherings or events. The first modern newspaper was the Nagasaki Shipping List and Advertiser , which was published bi-weekly by the Englishman A. W. Hansard. The first edition appeared on 22 June 1861. In November of
1770-514: The 1930s to the 1940s, newspapers faced intense government censorship and control. After Japan's defeat , strict censorship of the press continued as the American occupiers used government control in order to inculcate democratic and anti-communist values. In 1951, the American occupiers finally returned freedom of the press to Japan, which is the situation today based on the Article 21 of
1829-848: The President of Cabinet Intelligence Agency in Kuniaki Koiso 's cabinet. On 7 April 1945, Hiroshi Shimomura , former Vice President of Asahi , became the Minister without Portfolio and the President of Cabinet Intelligence Agency in Kantarō Suzuki 's cabinet. On 17 August 1945, Ogata became the Minister without Portfolio and the Chief Cabinet Secretary and the President of Cabinet Intelligence Agency in Prince Higashikuni 's cabinet. On 5 November 1945, as
The Asahi Shimbun - Misplaced Pages Continue
1888-641: The Waseda Chronicle (name changed to Tokyo Investigative Newsroom Tansa in March 2021). The Asahi's investigative section was told to avoid coverage of the Fukushima disaster, and has largely faded from view. In the evening edition of April 20, 1989, an article described how the world's largest Azami coral in a sea area designated as a natural environment conservation area in Okinawa was damaged, with
1947-739: The advocation of kokutai -Goji (retaining the fundamental character of the nation), hostility towards communism and Marxism , and hostility against the Japan Teachers Union . Traditionally, they view Russia (and previously the Soviet Union), China, and North Korea with hostility over issues such as communism, the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands and the Kuril Islands , and the kidnappings of Japanese citizens by North Korea . Most, but not all, seek to justify Japan's role in
2006-476: The aid of an ally under attack—the so-called right of collective self-defense. While the Asahi retracted articles based on the discredited testimony of Seiji Yoshida , its editorial position still recognizes the existence of the comfort women as Korean and other women from Japan's conquered territories during World War II who were coerced into prostitution to serve the Japanese military. In August 2014,
2065-536: The astonishment of the Western world . It was the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe. On 1 September 1940, the Osaka Asahi Shimbun and the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun unified their names into the Asahi Shimbun . On 1 January 1943, the publication of the Asahi Shimbun was stopped by the government after the newspaper published a critical essay contributed by Seigō Nakano , who was also one of
2124-456: The availability of these sources. WorldCat is a good starting point. In 1999, the Yomiuri shinbun released a CD-ROM titled The Yomiuri shinbun in the Meiji Era , which provides a searchable index of news articles and images from the period. Subsequent CD-ROMs, The Taisho Era , The Prewar Showa Era I and The Prewar Showa Era II , were completed eight years after the project
2183-719: The board of directors of the Mitsui zaibatsu ) and Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi to support Konoe. In 1944, they attempted assassination of Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō (one of the leaders of Tōseiha or Control Group which conflicted with Kōdōha in the Japanese Army ). On 9 April 1937, the Kamikaze , a Mitsubishi aircraft sponsored by the Asahi Shimbun company and flown by Masaaki Iinuma, arrived in London , to
2242-521: The center members of the Shōwa Kenkyūkai , which was a political think tank for Konoe. Ogata was one of the leading members of the Genyōsha which had been formed in 1881 by Tōyama Mitsuru . The Genyōsha was an ultranationalist group of organized crime figures and those with far right-wing political beliefs. Kōki Hirota , who was later hanged as a Class A war criminal, was also a leading member of
2301-554: The disaster. In response, the Asahi strengthened its investigative reporting unit, called the Tokubetsu Hodobu, or Special Reports Section, to take a more independent approach to its coverage. The section won many awards, including the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association Award in 2012 and again in 2013. In May 2014, the section published what it hoped would be its biggest scoop yet:
2360-412: The employees in the chaos of the disaster. However, controversy erupted over the Asahi story, and particularly the headline, which stated: “Workers Evacuated, Violating Plant Manager Orders." The newspaper came under intense criticism for slandering the workers by implying that they had fled the plant due to cowardice, when many in Japan had come to see Yoshida and plant workers as heroes who had prevented
2419-474: The first issue of the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun was published from the Tokyo office at Motosukiyachō, Kyōbashi. The first issue was numbered No. 1,076 as it was a continuation of three small papers: Jiyū no Tomoshibi , Tomoshibi Shimbun and Mesamashi Shimbun . On 1 April 1907, the renowned writer Natsume Sōseki , then 41, resigned his teaching positions at Tokyo Imperial University, now Tokyo University , to join
The Asahi Shimbun - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-711: The founding Murayama and Ueno families. According to the Reuters Institute Digital Report 2018, public trust in the Asahi Shimbun is the lowest among Japan's major dailies, though confidence is declining in all the major newspapers. The Asahi Shimbun is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the Yomiuri Shimbun , the Mainichi Shimbun , the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and Chunichi Shimbun . One of Japan's oldest and largest national daily newspapers,
2537-480: The gamut from general news-oriented papers to special-interest newspapers devoted to economics , sports , literature , industry, and trade . Newspapers are circulated either nationally, by region (such as Kantō or Kansai ), by each prefecture , or by each city . Some newspapers publish as often as two times a day (morning and evening editions) while others publish weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even yearly. The five leading national daily newspapers in Japan are
2596-414: The initial "KY" scratched on the coral. Along with a color photograph of the scratched coral, the article lamented the decline in Japanese morals. Later, investigations by local divers who had doubts about the article proved that the Asahi photographer himself made the scratches to forge a newspaper article. Taking responsibility, the president (at that time) Toichiro Hitotsuyanagi was forced to resign. This
2655-577: The latter half of the 1930s, Asahi ardently supported Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe 's wartime government (called Konoe Shin Taisei , or Konoe's New Political Order) and criticized capitalism harshly under Taketora Ogata , the Editor in Chief of Asahi Shimbun . Influential editorial writers of Asahi such as Shintarō Ryū, Hiroo Sassa, and Hotsumi Ozaki (an informant for the famous spy Richard Sorge ) were
2714-465: The leading members of the Genyōsha and Ogata's best friend. On 27 December 1943, Nagataka Murayama [ ja ] , a son-in-law of Murayama Ryōhei and the President of Asahi , removed Ogata from the Editor in Chief and relegated him to the Vice President to hold absolute power in Asahi . On 22 July 1944, Ogata, Vice President of Asahi , became a Minister without Portfolio and
2773-564: The national anthem. The Greater Japan Patriotic Party , supportive of the US–;Japan–South Korea alliance against China and North Korea and against communism as a whole, would always have the US national flag flying side by side with the Japanese flag in the vehicles and US military marches played alongside their Japanese counterparts. While political beliefs differ among the groups, they are often said to hold in common three philosophies:
2832-440: The newspaper retracted the discredited testimonies of Seiji Yoshida about the forcible recruitment of comfort women that were cited in several articles published by the Asahi and other major Japanese newspapers in the 1980s and 1990s. The paper drew ire from conservative media who, along with Abe's government, criticized it for damaging Japan's reputation abroad, some leveraging on this episode to imply that sexual slavery itself
2891-430: The poverty and patriarchal family system. For that reason, even if the military was not directly involved, it is said it was possible to gather many women through such methods as work-related scams and human trafficking." Following the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster , the Asahi and other newspapers faced growing public criticism for adhering too closely to the government narrative during their reporting of
2950-712: The president resigned to take responsibility for it. On 26 June 2007, Yoichi Funabashi was named the third editor-in-chief of Asahi Shimbun . Shōichi Ueno , the newspaper's co-owner since 1997, died on 29 February 2016. While Shin-ichi Hakojima was CEO, a partnership with the International Herald Tribune led to the publication of an English-language newspaper, the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun . It continued from April 2001 until February 2011. It replaced Asahi's previous English-language daily,
3009-477: The same testimony, apparently from the government, and used it not to shed light on the disaster, but to attack the Asahi . In mid-September, facing intense criticism from other media and the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for its Fukushima coverage and also its retractions of the comfort women stories, the Asahi suddenly announced that the Yoshida story had been mistaken and retracted it. The president of
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#17327727605463068-549: The same year, Asahi printed its first editorial. In 1881, the Asahi adopted an all-news format, and enlisted Ueno Riichi as co-owner. From 1882, Asahi began to receive financial support from the Government and Mitsui , and hardened the management base. Then, under the leadership of Ueno, whose brother was one of the Mitsui managers, and Murayama, the Asahi began its steady ascent to national prominence. On 10 July 1888,
3127-568: The same year, Hansard moved the paper to Yokohama and renamed it the Japan Herald . In 1862, the Tokugawa shogunate began publishing the Kampan batabiya shinbun , a translated edition of a widely distributed Dutch government newspaper. These two papers were published for foreigners, and contained only foreign news. The first Japanese daily newspaper that covered foreign and domestic news was
3186-461: The years 1945–1999. A much more expensive full-text searchable database is available only at the Harvard-Yenching Library at Harvard University , which notably includes advertisements in its index. Researchers using other university libraries would probably have to first use the CD-ROM index, and then look into the microfilm or shukusatsuban versions. Microfilm versions are available from 1888; shukusatsuban versions are available from 1931. Issues of
3245-608: Was a fabrication. The Asahi newspaper reaffirmed in its retracting article that "the fact that women were coerced into being sexual partners for Japanese soldiers cannot be erased" but also confirmed "No official documents were found that directly showed forcible taking away by the military on the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan, where the people living there were made 'subjects' of the Japanese Empire under Japanese colonial rule. Prostitution agents were prevalent due to
3304-551: Was also known as the KY case. On 27 September 1950, a solo interview with a Japanese Communist Party executive in hiding, Ritsu Ito, was posted. Later it was revealed that this was forged by the Asahi reporter in charge. The Asahi Shimbun Asia Network (AAN) is a think tank that aims to promote information exchange in Asia and provide opportunities for scholars, researchers and journalists to share their ideas on pressing themes in Asia. It
3363-553: Was established in 1999. Their work includes annual international symposia and the publication of research reports. In 2003, Gong Ro Myung was chosen as the new president of AAN. Symposia have included: Reports include such titles as: Established in 1929, the Asahi Prize is a prize awarded by the newspaper, since 1992 by the Asahi Shimbun Foundation, for achievements in scholarship or the arts that has made
3422-464: Was first conceived. Postwar Recovery , the first part of a postwar Showa Era series that includes newspaper stories and images until 1960, is forthcoming. Issues of Yomiuri shinbun printed since 1998 are also available as an online resource through Lexis-Nexis Academic. The Asahi shinbun has a CD-ROM database consisting of an index of headlines and sub-headlines from the years 1945–1999. A much more expensive full-text searchable database
3481-440: Was second behind that of the Yomiuri Shimbun . By print circulation, it is the second largest newspaper in the world behind the Yomiuri , though its digital size trails that of many global newspapers including The New York Times . Its publisher, The Asahi Shimbun Company, is a media conglomerate with its registered headquarters in Osaka . It is a privately held family business with ownership and control remaining with
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